Thoughtful Thursday [wk.12]

This quote is inspired by the birthdays of two people very dear to me: my father and my only niece. This weekend I'll be driving [almost] the entire width of Idaho celebrating with my loved ones. It's going to be crammed, it's going to be a little hectic, my bum might get a little sore, but I'm so happy I can be with my family! Einstein said it best:

"Rejoice with your family in the beautiful land of life!"

~Albert Einstein

And rejoice I will! My family definitely lifts my spirits and makes me so grateful, every single day. I have to give them credit for keeping me as happy as I am!


My niece is the sweetest thing in the world. I'll come home from work to find pictures she drew and colored just for me! Drawings of tigers, lions, and jaguars; drawings of honey bees and butterflies; drawings of owls, and even dinosaurs with babies! I started putting them up on my wall and she was so happy and proud when she saw them up there! Her smile instantly makes me happy.

My niece and one of her quick drawings of the Count from Sesame Street.
(I showed her the censored Count video, hence the "beeep")

And where would I be without my dad?! I've been a daddy's girl for as long as I can remember. It's been hard these past few years being so far away from him and having to share our lives through phone calls and email. But this year I get to spend his birthday weekend with him! Maybe we'll go back out to Shoshone Falls and I can get some nice shots with my DSLR. Or maybe we'll just sit around chatting, eating veggie chips and watching movies. I don't really care what we do as long as I can share his birthday with him.

May Commitments

I'm seriously considering making this a monthly thing.

April is over and I have to admit that I fell a bit short on my commitments for the month. I managed to clear out and organize some things, and that was nice. I also kept my stress in check! Which is my biggest challenge in life, so I can't beat myself up if I fell a little short in other areas. And I think I only had one cup of coffee the whole month (that must be some sort of personal record). Easter screwed up the sugar cutback, but thankfully all of the candy is gone now!

Blossoms on a tree in my boyfriend's backyard

In May I will:
Exercise more: For real this time. I'm considering buying a bike so I have something fun to do in the afternoons (or even the mornings, if I'm feeling ambitious!) I think I'll shoot for 2-3 days a week at the local fitness club.

Be more food conscious: This can tie back into cutting back on sugar, but I want to implement overall consciousness in all of my food choices. I want to buy more local produce because the farmers markets are going to start up again soon. I'm also going to cut WAY back on my soy intake. I found this article the other day and it blew me away. I'm all about sustainability and soy is definitely NOT sustainable. I do have my own organic seeds, and I'm okay with planting and eating those, but for the most part I'm going to read labels like crazy. And use skim milk from the local dairy in my protein shakes instead of soy milk. (Speaking of protein shakes, this stuff is awesome!!)

Read more books: Self-explanitory. I had two books that I had been leisurely reading for almost a year and I finally worked through them. I didn't want to start anything new knowing I had books that needed to be finished. But now they're read and I can move on to new treasures.

Blooming bluebells

I think I'll leave it at that for now. I find that if I give myself too long of a list I won't get any of it done. I need to work on sprouting new habits instead of tackling issues all at once. And I think these things go well together. The first two do anyway. Reading just makes me insanely happy. If I think of anything else that might fit, I'll add it later on in the month!

I hope your May starts out fantastic!

Thoughtful Thursday [wk.11]- "1-T" DAY

No quote today. I'm not reflecting; I'm engaging. Today is the day where student loan debt reaches $1 trillion. Yes, that's 12 zeros.

My generation grew up being told that we needed a college education to get a stable, good paying job. Unfortunately, we had to take out loans to pay for the increasing costs of tuition. Not to mention pricey books in the science, engineering, and medical fields. "But no worry," we were told. "With your degree you'll get a good job and be able to pay off that debt in no time."

Yet the news is telling us that 1 in 2 college grads are jobless, or in positions that don't require the knowledge they gained while earning their 4 year degree. Many of my friends who have graduated with a bachelor's degree are working as waiters or in grocery store delis. It's a sad, sad outlook.

Source

Fortunately people see the injustice in the conundrum so many young people find themselves in after graduating college. Robert Applebaum started the Forgive Student Loan Debt movement. I really believe that this is a movement worth following, as it affects all of us, not to mention the future economy of this country.

I normally don't post about social issues, but this one just makes me sad. $1 trillion of debt? To educate the future of this country? It's backwards, it's offensive, it's killing the country. It's practically indentured servitude! Young people can't start businesses or buy houses because of the weight of their debt. And the only reason they have the debt is because they were told they could only get a good a job with a college degree. Which, by the way, I don't fully agree with. However, I do agree with and believe in education. This is incredibly sticky and messy. But please, lets keep up with this issue so we can all have a brighter future!

Review: THE SOULMATE EXPERIENCE

Source

The Soulmate Experience

by Mali Apple & Joe Dunn

I broke a promise to myself in order to read this book as quickly as possible and for free. It was worth it. I first heard of The Soulmate Experience about 6 months ago, and it peaked my interest because it focuses on how to keep the love alive in a relationship. Sounded interesting. So when I saw that they were giving the Kindle edition away for free in honor of their one year book anniversary, I caved and downloaded the Kindle software onto my Mac. Then I read the book. In 2 days.

It was a fun, easy read. The authors provided A TON of anecdotes, which at first I thought was annoying but they really helped to illustrate the points they were trying to make. Honestly, I didn't enjoy the beginning of the book because it was very similar to another I have read and I thought "no duh" a lot. However, as I progressed through the pages I realized that these two beings have some very helpful advice and insight!

For instance, there is an entire chapter on how to deal with jealousy, and it's not in the conventional way that you'd think! (i.e. nagging, guilt-trips, restrictions) Actually, nothing about this book follows the "conventional relationship model." As such, it was a very refreshing read. Some of the topics even sound a little scary [however, if you're in a relationship where two people are willing to work, nothing should be scary or off limits]. They gave tons of examples of fun dates, communication techniques, and easy ways to adopt new habits into your life.

Positivity was the sonorous bell throughout this book. It starts out by asking you to apply positive changes to yourself, thus making it easy to handle your relationship in a positive manner. I'm glad I have this book, because I'm sure I will reference it when my date ideas run dry! [And especially when my monkey brain gets the better of me!]

Thoughtful Thursday [wk.10]- FORGOTTEN VIRTUES

I'm only posting a quote today, because I think this speaks for itself.
I don't need to expand on this; it's perfect the way it is.

"Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries.

Without them humanity cannot survive."

- His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Earth Month

To celebrate:

April Photography Walks.

[I need to figure out how to put a watermark on my photos so I can confidently post them on my blog without fear of someone stealing them from me! Yes, I am slightly technology illiterate.]

Thoughtful Thursday [wk.9]- SHINE

“When you do something noble and beautiful and nobody noticed, do not be sad.

For the sun every morning is a beautiful spectacle and yet

most of the audience still sleeps.”

-John Lennon

I love this quote. It reminds me that kindness wouldn't be kindness

if it came with conditions or expectations.

The sun shines, day after day, without any expectations.
We can be like the sun. We can shine and bring joy to others, even be overlooked from time to time, but we must still shine to make the world a happier, healthier place.
We can shine solely for ourselves; to warm our own heart and lift our own spirit.


Shine for others.
Shine for your Self.
All that matters is that you shine.